Clothes-washing machine having impeller-conveyer and scrubber



March 10, 1953 H. w. ALTORFER 2,630,695

CLOTHES-WASHING MACHINE HAVING IMPELLER-CONVEYER AND SCRUBBER 7' Filed July 12, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 d fmg March 10, 1953 H.-w. ALTORFER 2,630,695

CLOTHES-WASHING MACHINE HAVING IMPELLER-CONVEYER AND SCRUBBER 7 Filed July 12, 1948 4 Sheets- -Sheet 2 March 10, 1953 H. w. ALTORFER CLOTHES-WASHING MACHINE HAVING IMPELLER-CONVEYER AND SCRUBBER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 12, 1948 I71 ventor' G ZV W Patented Mar. 10, 1953 assures CLOTHES-WASHING MACHINE HAVING IMPELLER-CONVEYER ANDSCRUBBER Henry W. Altorfer, Peoria, 111., assignor toAltorfer Bros. Company, Peoria, Il l a cql' oration of Illinois Application July 12, 1948, Serial N 0. 38,323

2 Claims.

1 This invention relates to improvements in clothes washing machines, and will be described as applied to conventional domestic washing machines, although it will be understood that it has wider application, extending to and including commercial washers.

It has long been recognized that washing action mechanisms in order to wash a batch of clothes rapidly and uniformly clean, should flex and rub the clothes to dislodge and loosen embedded dirt from the fabric, and then open and flush the fabric to separate and float oif the dirt. Washing mechanisms, at best, produceonlysome compromise of the optimum washing action. This optimum washing action is best illustrated by the experienced washer Woman employing a washboard in a tub of wash water. 'She grasps and rubs the clothes on the board; then loosens and douses them in the water in the welleknown rub a club dub manner. This well-known washboard action is most effective, and this is the action that washing mechanisms desire to simulate, but have not done so successively and fully heretofore.

Cylinder washers roll and drop the clothes :in the water. Oscillating washing machines toss the clothes to and fro in a reversingaction that depends on the impingement of the clothes on the tub or on each other. Agitator washing machines grab and strike the clothes with the vanes of the agitator; then throw .them off the agitator to be returned by a torroidal :fiow .of wash water created by the agitator. Vacuum cup machines stomp and suck the clothes .while the vacuum cups ratchet around thetu'btocover all the surface of the floating clothes. Rotating impeller washers grab and throw oil the clothes to have them returned by the suction action of the impeller blades.

The washing action of the various washing mechanisms vary widely with changes in :the weight of the clothes load, the size of the pieces in the batch of clothes, the amount of water in the tub, the relationship of the amount of water with the load of clothes, the speedof the washing action and many other factors, even includ ing the amount of soap in the water and the lubrication or friction factor in the clothes.

Cylinder washers are deficient in washing action. Rolling and dropping of the clothes in the Wash water is not highly effective. They wash rather uniformly 'owing to the eiiective rolling and dropping action but are slow and require excessivetime.

Oscillating washers are very temperamental.

With the proper balance between clothes load, water level and speed of oscillation they are fast, clean and eiiective washers. With .an out-ofbalance relationship between clothes loads and water levels, and even with a variation of as much as five oscillations a minute, the oscillator washer will scarcely wash at all.

Agitator washers are very effective under a wide variety of clothes loads and water levels. However, with heavy clothes loads and particularly with heavy pieces, the clothes ride theagitator andare very hard onclothes and are even hard on their reciprocating mechanisms. Under these conditions, they have .a tendency to be spotty in washing, that is, someclothes in washing are not washed clean due to deficient turnoverand transposition of the clothes.

Vacuum cup machines are also very temperamental with respect to clothes loads and water levels. With the proper relationships they wash very well but under other conditions are quite deficient.

Rotating impeller washers depend for their effectiveness ona nice balance between the size and .s-peed of the impellers and particularly the impeller vanes. A strong impeller design has a :had tendency to grab clothes and rotate the clothes with the impeller which is hard on the clothesanddefeats the suction action of the impeller to circulate and return the clothes. A weak impeller rubs the clothes very effectively butisdefioient in suction action to circulate and return theclothes tothe impeller.

In Patent No. 2,416,611, assigned to Altorfer Bros, Company, there is illustrated and described an :orbital moving dasher washer wherein the clothes areformed in a ringaround the impeller and rubbedby the orbital moving impeller for a very effective ashingaction. This orbital moving washing mechanism is very efiective onaverage and heavy clothes loads. :I-Iowever, for light clothes loads, it loses someof its washing effectiveness, and. :therefore, is low in efiiciency unless:the operatorireduoes the water level'to cornpensateforthe light clothes load.

:Consideringthe attainment of optimum washing action, I have discovered that the functions of light, rapid scrubbing action, without strain on the clothes or mechanism, maybe separated fromrthezfunctionsof conveying the clothes in a loosening, "turning and transposing flushing action withinsthe washing tub while returningthe clothes .to the scrubber. This avoids the faults of combining these :functions ,in a single agency mechanism.

repeated scrubbing washing action on different areas of the clothes to include all areas of the clothes even under widely variable conditions.

The objects may be accomplished by utilizing conventional clothes washing or conveying mechanisms operated to perform the function of conveying and loosening the clothes, While separately applying a scrubbing action to the loosened clothes circulating in the wash water or other fluid, as by a rotating or movable scrubber mounted at one side or the bottom of the tub. By combining these functions in separate units in a tub, a very efiicient washing action is obtained under various conditions.

Other objects and benefits will be disclosed in the following descriptions and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a domestic washing machine, showing in elevation a rotary scrubber and a round, vaned conveyor mechanismy Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the washing machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken face view of the scrubber shown in Fig. 1, as it would appear on the line 33 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3-A is an enlarged face view of another form of scrubber which might be used in place of the scrubber shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 3-3 is a cross section of the scrubber shown in Fig. 3-A on the line 3-B3-B in Fig. 3-A;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a domestic Washing machine employing a reciprocating agitator as the conveyor mechanism in conjunction with a rotary scrubber mounted in a side of the washer tub;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of the washing machine shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a washing machine employing a hydraulic pump for circulating water in the tub over a deflecting baille to turn and transpose the clothes before they are returned to a rotary scrubber mechanism mounted in the bottom of the tub;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section therethrough;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a vacuum cup washing machine wherein the ratcheting vacuum cups are used as the conveyor mechanism to convey the clothes to a rotary scrubber mounted in the side of the tub;

Fig. 9 is a vertical cross section of the vacuum cup washing machine shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a vertical cross section of a washing machine employing an orbital moving dasher utilized as a conveyor mechanism in conjunction with a rotary scrubber mounted in the bottom of the tub; and

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the orbital moving dasher washer shown in Fig. 10.

Now referring to the drawings, and at the outset to Figs. 1 and 2, I show a domestic washer having a'base l, with a tub 2, mounted thereon, adapted to be closed by a cover 3. The tub is adapted to be filled to a conventional water line and hold the conventional amount of wash wa-' 4 ter or other washing fluid. A rotary conveyor 4 with conveyor vanes 5 is mounted on an upright shaft 6 in the bottom of the tub 2. A rotary scrubber I is mounted on a shaft 8 in the side of the tub 2, adjacent the rotary conveyor 4. Both conveyor and scrubber are driven by conventional motor means 9 through a belt and pulley drive is to the shaft 6 and thence through bevel gears I I,

shaft l2, and a belt and pulley drive 13 to the shaft 8 of the rotary scrubber I.

It will be obvious that the conveyor mechanism 4 may take various forms in order to accomplish the results desired, as for example, the vertical vanes 5 may be mounted in a spiral manner on the conveyor 4, in order to lift and turn the clothes should such a result be desirable. It will also be understood that the rotary conveyor instead of being in straight cylindrical form may be in conical form with the large part of the cone adjacent the bottom of the tub in order to create greater movement in the bottom of the tub than in the top. Such variations are well within the scope of this invention.

The scrubber I, although shown in Figs. 1 to 3, as a rotary scrubber, may take many forms. By referring to Fig. 3, I show radial depressions Hl in the face of the rotary scrubber l which will have the desired wash board effect of scrubbing the clothes as they are directed into and over the scrubber, but I may desire to substitute similar opposite protuberances or to supply light corrugations in order to effect the rapid light scrubbing action desired. 7

In my invention, it is not necessary to consider the scrubber as a pump impeller that must create Water currents in order to draw clothes into the scrubber and radial water currents to force the clothes outward and around the tub. Rather, the function of the scrubber is merely to rub and fiex the clothes to perform that necessary washing function. This rubbing and flexing must be rapid but light, and, as aforestated, will have little, if any, pump impeller effect.

It is not necessary to have a rotary impeller, and by referring to Figs. 3-A and 3-13, I illustrate an oscillating scrubber l5 that is mounted on a pivot H3 at a side of the tub, and driven by an eccentric pin or crank I! operating in a slot N3 in the body of the scrubber. The crank or pin IT may be operated by power as described above. In this form of a scrubber rub-boardlike corrugations H! are formed in a radial fashion from a point adjacent the mounting pin I6.

Thus a reciprocating scrubber performing the desirable functions may be substituted for the rotary scrubber 1. Many other variations of the scrubber may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention, and in general the object is to provide a rapidly moving washboardlike scrubber that will take clothes from a conveyor, such as that shown at 4, and subject them to the desirable light scrubbing action, whereupon they are carried circuitously around the tub by the conveyor mechanism 4, or some other conveyor mechanism that will perform this function.

It will be noted particularly that my definition of a scrubber is merely some mechanical means to effect light rapid rubbing. I do not require impeller effects, such as suction drawing clothes into the scrubber and Water currents to throw the clothes radially outward and in a circulating manner away from the scrubber. The circulation effects are accomplished by the conveyor, and thus I have separated the scrubbing and circulat'ing effects that have been combined heretofore in single agency washers. By so doing, I have eliminated the objections heretofore encountered with such washers. Of course, I appreciate that there will be minor suction and radial water current effects, but in my structure, these eifects are merely incidental and are not necessary when I employ a separate conveyor for circulating and loosening efi'ect.

Now referring to Figs. 4 and 5,1 show an oscillating agitator 25 having curved vanes 251; driven by a crank 26 and connecting rod '21 from a beltdriven crank mechanism (not shown). As is well understood in the art, such agitator crank mechanisms, particularly with a curved vaned agitator, may be arranged to ratchet the clothes around the tub as indicated by the arrows therein. In conjunction with the reciprocating agitator mechanism, I drive a scrubber 28 through a belt and pulley mechanism 29 operating from the common source of power for the connecting rod 21. Thus, by utilizing a reciprocating agitator mechanism, I have provided means whereby the clothes are circulated around the tub while being turned, transposed and flushed, and positively returned to the scrubbing action of the scrubber 23. The scrubber 28 may be constructed and operated in a manner similar to the scrubber l or IE, as described above. As is well-known in the art, all agitator machines, on account of peculiarities of their drives, have the effect of circulating clothes around the tub, so this principle might be applied to almost any agitator. By providing the curved-vane short-stroke agitator as above described, this effect is enhanced and thus I have provided an optimum arrangement to convey and scrub clothes in the manner of my invention.

Now referring to Figs. 6 and '7, I illustrate a washer employing a conventional hydraulic pump 38 taking wash Water from a screened inlet Si in the bottom of the tub, and delivering it through a nozzle 32 within the tub. The wash water then is passed over a curved bafile 33 to turn and circulate the clothes around the tub in the directions of the arrows to deliver the clothes to a scrubber 34 to eifect the necessary flushing cleaning action. The scrubber 34 is shown as mounted in the bottom of the tub which may be used, if desired, with any form of this invention,.

instead of the side mounting described above.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, I illustrate a conventional vacuum cup washer wherein a conventional vacuum cup mechanism 35, actuating in a reciprocating manner vacuum cups 36 and which are ratcheted counter-clockwise around the tub by ratchet mechanism 31, in order to subject the entire surface of the clothes within the tub to vacuum cup reciprocating action. It will be understood and appreciated that this vacuum cup reciprocating action turns over and flushes the clothes while subjecting them to a stomping action that ratchets the clothes around the tub in a circulating manner as indicated by the arrows. This mechanism is driven by conventional power means 35p, which is also connected by a mechanism (not shown) with a belt and pulley drive mechanism 39 driving a rotary scrubber 38, mounted in a side of the tub, as shown. Thus it will be understood that I have supplied in a vacuum cup mechanism a conveyor mechanism that subjects the clothes to a flushing, transposing and turning action to deliver the clothes to the scrubber 38.

Now referring to Figs. and 11, I illustrate 'fully described and explained in Patent No.

2,416,611, assigned to Altorfer Bros. Company. The orbital moving dasher 6!], in itself, is an 'efiective washing action rotating counter-clockwise, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 11. In this invention, it is utilized principally as conveyor means to circulate the clothes around the tub as indicated by the arrows, into the scrubber mechanism '45.

As has been explained previously, this orbital moving dasher 4c i very effective for washing clothes when the clothes are of a medium or heavy batch weight. However, for light weights of clothes in the batch, its effectiveness depends upon the operator who should reduce the normal water level in order to wash efiectively a light batch of clothes. As here used, the dasher operates as a conveyor to circulate, turn and transpose the clothe in order to deliver them to the scrubber 45. Thus the necessity for reducing water level for light batches is avoided, and the device now separates the functions of scrubbing and conveying so that it is adaptable to all loads of clothes, light or heavy, or high or low water levels. Therefore, I avoid the fault of requiring adjusted water levels for various clothes loads. Moreover, by separating the conveying and scrubbing functions, I have discovered that a very much better optimum result is obtained and a generally new and more adaptable washing mechanism is provided.

The foregoing description is illustrative of several examples of devices embodying this invention. It is recognized that the invention may be embodied in other forms, and that modifications may be made both in the character of the conveyor and of the scrubber. The latter performs a substantial scrubbing action as the clothes or fabrics are presented thereto by the conveyor. The conveyor may or may not perform some washing action in addition to its conveying function, according to its construction and the washing conditions.

I claim:

1. In a washing machine having a tub with a surrounding wall and bottom and adapted to contain a washing liquid, the combination of a rotary scrubbing device within the tub, means mounting said scrubbing device on the surrounding wall of the tub adjacent the bottom thereof and adjacent said surrounding wall, said scrubbing device having a clothes contacting surface with scrubbing portions thereon, and a conveyance device mounted on a ubstantially vertical shaft extending upwardly through the bottom of the tub for turning movement about a substantially vertical axis, said conveyance device having upright vanes thereon extending substantially throughout the height thereof and extending substantially above the top of the scrubbing device, and means for simultaneously driving the scrubbing and conveyance devices to move the clothes into contact with the scrubbing device for washing thereby.

2. In a washing machine having a tub with a surrounding wall and bottom and adapted to contain a washing liquid, the combination of a rotary scrubbing device within the tub, means mounting said scrubbing device on the surrounding wall of the tub adjacent the bottom thereof and adjacent said surrounding wall, said scrubbing device having a clothes contacting surface with scrubbing portions thereon, and a rotary conveyance device mounted on a substantially vertical shaft extending upwardly through the bottom of the tub for turning movement about a substantially vertical axis, said conveyance device having upright vanes thereon extending substantially throughout the height thereof and extending substantially above the top of the scrubbing device, means for rotating the scrubbing device rapidly, and means for rotating the conveyance device simultaneously during rotation of the scrubbing device to move the clothes into contact with the scrubbing device for washing thereby.

HENRY W. ALTORFER.

8 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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